In response to the death of George Floyd, Chief Bruce would like to share this email he distributed to RPD staff on May 29, 2020.

“I have been thinking about what to say about this incident. I have watched the videos that have been made available to the public. I have read numerous articles about it. My disclaimer is that we do not have all of the information but these are not the actions of a professional police officer. I am sickened by the incident and more bothered that other officers were present and took no action on behalf of George Floyd.

I would expect that given a similar situation in Richland; the outcome would be completely different. Many of you have heard me talk about procedural justice and being more transparent with and to our community. The first tenet of procedural justice is fairness. I believe that we should treat all people fairly. I believe that your training has taught you to constantly reevaluate the situation and adjust as necessary. I hope that given a similar situation, that a fellow officer would have the courage to say that’s enough, he is no longer resisting. Our role is to take enforcement actions against the suspect(s) and sometimes that is physical. But once they are under control and in our custody, our role has to change to their protector. We have to ensure that they are presented to the court for the rest of the criminal justice system.

If anyone has watched the video(s) and do not have a problem with the action taken by those officers, you need to reevaluate your career choice.”